Aquaver is a

cleantech Clean technology, in short cleantech, is any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental protection activities. Cle ...

company headquartered in

Voorburg Voorburg is a town and former municipality in the west part of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. Together with Leidschendam and Stompwijk, it makes up the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg. It has a population of about 39,000 people ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, with offices at the

High Tech Campus Eindhoven The High Tech Campus Eindhoven is a high tech center and R&D ecosystem on the Southern edge of the Dutch city of Eindhoven. In 2016, the High Tech Campus is home to more than 140 companies and institutions, comprising over 10,000 product developer ...

. Aquaver is acknowledged to be the first company worldwide to develop commercial systems based on

membrane distillation Membrane distillation (MD) is a thermally driven separation process in which separation is driven by phase change. A hydrophobic membrane presents a barrier for the liquid phase, allowing the vapour phase (e.g. water vapour) to pass through the m ...

, a novel technology for water treatment.

Technology

The technology of the Aquaver systems is based on

. Membrane distillation combines

membrane separation Membrane technology encompasses the scientific processes used in the construction and application of membranes. Membranes are used to facilitate the transport or rejection of substances between mediums, and the mechanical separation of gas and li ...

and

distillation Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separation process, separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distilla ...

, with hydrophobic membranes and differences in vapour pressure. The Vacuum Multi Effect Membrane Distillation (VMEMD) configuration used in Aquaver systems adds the advantages of low-temperature operation and multi-effects to the

characteristics. Aquaver has collaborated with memsys and

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...

to develop its water treatment systems.

Applications

Aquaver

units are focused at

desalination Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in Soil salinity control, soil desalination, which is an issue f ...

industrial water treatment There are many uses of water in industry and, in most cases, the used water also needs treatment to render it fit for re-use or disposal. Raw water entering an industrial plant often needs treatment to meet tight quality specifications to be of use ...

, and 'difficult-to-treat' waters. In February 2014 Aquaver commissioned in

Gulhi Gulhi ( Dhivehi: ގުޅި) is one of the inhabited islands of Kaafu Atoll. It is located in the South Malé Atoll close to Maafushi island and connected daily except Friday by MTCC public transport ferry. Geography The island is south of the ...

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

, the world's first desalination plant based on

. The desalination plant makes use of the waste-heat produced by the existing diesel generators, which provide electricity to the island, to power the water purification process. Aquaver is also participating with

Abengoa Abengoa, S.A. was a Spanish multinational company in the green infrastructure, energy and water sectors. The company was founded in 1941 by Javier Benjumea Puigcerver and José Manuel Abaurre Fernández-Pasalagua, and was based in Seville, Spain ...

and

Masdar Masdar,(Arabic:مصدر‎), also known as the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, is a UAE-government owned renewable energy company based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Masdar is a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company and was founded b ...

in a 7.9 million dollar project to develop an innovative desalination pilot plant in Ghantoot city, in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

’s border with

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

. The desalination plant will have a capacity of producing 1,000 m3/d of desalted water using a hybrid system consisting in reverse osmosis in combination with an innovative membrane distillation system, provided by Aquaver, to optimize the traditional reverse osmosis process.

Awards

Aquaver has received the Water Innovator of the Year 2013 and the

Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan is an American business consulting firm. It offers market research and analysis, growth strategy consulting, and corporate training. It has about 45 offices in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe; the principal office is in San ...

2014 European New Product Innovation Leadership AwardFrost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards
/ref> for the development of its

water treatment Water treatment is any process that improves the Water quality, quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking water, drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recrea ...

systems.

Merge

In 2015 Aquaver merged with memsys, which provides the

modules used in Aquaver systems. The Aquaver management team, who started the company and brought

to the market, has left to start other new ventures.

References

External links